gnade

if someone told you what happens in the beginning of this movie you would tell them to fuck off

The top reviews on here for this movie are pretty confounding to me. The first 45(ish) is firmly in Carpenter masterpiece tier. The quiet dismal denial of dramatic catharsis is why this is so utterly effective for a long while. The way Carpenter frames and cuts to keep everything so shrouded and morose really builds a fucking fantastic atmosphere. Also the cross-cuts in the first 45 are truly some of the best examples of cross-cutting I’ve ever seen. Carpenter maintains such a strict and balanced narrative economy with these simultaneous storylines being bridged by cross-cutting. When the baddies (that are admittedly cool as fuck) actually have to get served up, it honestly feels like that quiet temperament goes out the window. I suppose this intrusion of intense aggression and violence fits well into the thematic throughline of the film; the bedrock foundation of every-day American quotidian life being founded and historically entrenched by acts of heinous violence. The eventual manifestation of this violence coming to the surface of daily life in the form of the ghosts that were brutalized in service of this bedrock. It’s an incredibly layered and nuanced film for what it is (a 90min studio horror with a kickass tagline) but I can’t help but feel like the film is almost betrayed by the obligation of a “badass” climax. It all just kind of feels out of place as a culmination, which is extremely unfortunate (in my eyes) because had this stuck the landing it probably would be one of my favorite films of all time. Also, idk if it was budgetary (lack of coverage?) but the final 20 was absolutely shredded in the edit. There are like multiple beats that should just play out much longer and they just cut so haphazardly imo. Gotta keep dat tite 90 ig 🔥

Denzillion Hanks presents:  A gift 🎁 For The Stalwarts of Phillindeliphina

Moral of the story: Every bug was once a bird . Think on that letterboxdians